Quiet humming buzzed around me as I came to with a pounding headache. Moving was difficult due to a mixture of pain, darkness, and the fact that the world kept moving.

As I got to my feet, the pressure in my head skyrocketed, and I stumbled, crashing into a metal wall. I leaned on it for support as I reached my arm up to touch the part of my head that ached the most, only to feel the distinctive texture of a particular fluid leaking through my glove.

How did I get hit hard enough to draw blood? And where am I?

The ground was shaking underneath me, and everything that I could reach without moving was metal. As I focused on the vibrations, I realized where I was, I'm in the back of some sort of truck!

Keeping one hand on the wall, I waited for my vision and balance to return to me, which took way too long for my comfort. It felt like an eternity before I could make out a strange lump near the other side of the truck.

Stumbling as the ground kept moving, I finally reached it, pulling off the cover to find Justice, "What the heck?"

Flopping down next to my runner, my memories slowly started to come back.

Someone called asking for a repair on their fridge.

I showed up, but no one answered the door.

From inside the house, I heard a thud and a groan.

I went inside to check on the person inside, and that's where my memories cut out.

My head screamed out in pain as a blindingly bright light came from one of the walls, making the whole back of the truck crystal clear.

A voice came from the direction of the light, "Ah, Fudo Yusei, you've finally woken up."

Blinking rapidly, I turned to the voice and saw a gray haired man staring at me, "Who the frick are you?"

"I don't feel like introducing myself. It suffices to say that I am a businessman, and I have a proposition for you."

Leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes, "Yeah, of course you are a businessman, and those thugs that destroyed my sense of balance are ballerinas."

The tone of his voice reminded me of mansplaining, "I sometimes have to employ a few rougher individuals. But down to business. I want you to join a team that I'm putting together for the WRGP."

Fury raised inside of me, "Not in a million years. I'm entering with my brothers, we even have all of the paperwork ready to turn in."

A loud bang came from what I assumed was a TV on the wall, "You will join my team no matter what your personal opinion is!"

Silence took over for a couple seconds before the softer tone came back, "We're taking you to our doctor. He's...good at changing people's minds. Permanently."

My eyes shot open as I glared in disgust at him, "That won't be allowed!"

Once again he slammed his hands down, "It will be allowed because only you and I will ever know about it."

I tried to keep my rage under control, "Liar. My brothers will know."

The screen went blank, yet the red dot remained on, letting me know that they were still watching me. I returned to leaning against the wall, rubbing my head, I could try to turn it off, but I'm more likely to shut off the whole stupid vehicle. And I'm not in the mood to crash today.

As my thoughts ran out of control, I focused instead on maintaining a blank face, hiding how I felt about the situation.


I was woken from a light doze as the whole vehicle lurched from something hitting the doors.

Pushing myself to my feet, I watched in awe as the doors slowly collapsed inwards, pulling apart from each other. After one particularly hard hit, I could see something green pull away from it.

As it pulled away, I could see a familiar face standing on a car, "Aki?"

Relief filled her face as she noticed me, "Yusei! You're alive!"

Hoping that I wasn't currently being watched through the TV, I grabbed the edge of the doors and shoved them outwards as hard as I could, finally popping them open.

Instantly, the car started to swerve as it sped up, and I heard the sound of a monster being destroyed above me, Must have used Rose Tentacles again.

My balance was still absolutely terrible, so I struggled to keep my distance as I watched Aki launch herself onto one of the doors. I made my way over to her, somehow managing to grab her hand and pull her onto the floor of the vehicle just as said door broke off. We both watched her duel disk fly off, while the door nearly hit the car that she had jumped from.

She called out, "Mina-san, are you okay?"

Gently, I grabbed her shoulders, "I don't think she can hear you. Thank you for saving me. What were you thinking?"

In the past year, she had perfected her glare, which was currently aimed at me, "I was TRYING to save my best friend."

"Again, thank you. I just feel like crap right now, so I'm a little short tempered."

The truck veered sharply to the side, causing both of us to crash into the wall, and we tumbled to the floor.

Aki pulled herself against the wall, "So, what do we do now?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw red, "We are going to ride out of here."

I staggered over to Justice, and tossed my spare helmet over to Aki, "Yusei, there is no way you are going to drive!"

My eyebrow lifted up, "Well, our only other option is for you to drive."

Her glare was barely softened by the visor when it slid over her face.

We got on the runner, and as I revved my engine I saw another runner headed towards us, "You've got to be kidding me."

Aki leaned over, "Oh shoot."

I looked up at her, "Hold on tight!"

The weight of my helmet, the volume of my engine, and my runner switching into duel mode as I hit the ground combined nearly caused me to crash. I nearly hit the other runner on my way down, and the automated voice came from my screen,

"Duel mode engaged, auto-pilot standing by."

My opponent pulled up beside me, "You have to duel me, you have no choice. Your runner will explode otherwise."

Concentrating with a pounding headache was challenging, but I managed to get out, "Can't I at least let Aki off first?"

"No."

She touched my shoulder, "I'll hold on carefully."

The mechanical voice spoke, "Searching for available tracks. Central-East located. Authorization granted."

Giant sections of the road lifted up to our level, leading us to the track. As we drove, I turned on the private frequency, "Does this duelist sound a bit feminine to you?"

"Yeah, you might not be the only female turbo duelist anymore."

Switching back, I was barely in time to hear my opponent start, "I summon Sacred Knight Spear-Holder in defense mode, then place a facedown and end my turn."

Sacred Knight Spear-Holder-400

I examined my hand before making my move, "I summon Speed Warrior, whose points double during his first turn on the field."

Speed Warrior-1800

"Now attack that Spear-Holder!"

As my opponent spoke, I grew more certain about what gender they were born as, "I activate Floral Shield, which negates the attack and lets me draw a card."

"Fine, then I place three facedowns and end my turn."

My opponent took their turn, "I summon Horse of the Floral Knights in attack mode."

Horse of the Floral Knights-400

"When I successfully summoned, I get to draw a card. Next, I activate Overboost, which gives me four speed counters for the rest of the turn. And then I used my new speed counters to use Speed Fusion. I combine my two monsters together to Fusion summon Centaur Mina."

Centaur Mina-2200

"Now attack Fudo directly!"

I felt the excitement of a duel fill me despite the pain, "I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, it deflects one attack per turn."

My opponent chuckled a little, "Centaur Mina can negate a trap and put it facedown once per turn."

Life Points Yusei=2700

I froze when Aki whimpered, switching to private again, "Are you okay?

"I'll be fine, it just scared me."

Switching back, I listened to my opponent as they kept speaking, "I place a facedown and end my turn. Now my speed counters drop down to one."

Their speed slowed down, and I started, "I summon Junk Synchron in attack mode. And when he's summoned successfully, I can summon a level 1 or 2 non tuner in defense mode."

Junk Synchron-1300

Speed Warrior-400

"Then I tune them together to create Junk Warrior!"

Junk Warrior-2300

Arms gripped me tighter as I kept going, "Now, Junk Warrior attacks Centaur Mina!"

"I activate Fleur Guard, which stops one monster from being destroyed in battle."

Aki muttered in my ear, "Seems to like flowers, don't they?"

I chuckled, "You still take a small amount of damage."

Life Points ?=3900

"I end my turn with another facedown."

My opponent nodded, "I summon Fleur Synchron in attack mode."

Fleur Synchron-400

Aki scooted closer to me, "Sounds like her most powerful is coming out."

"I tune my monsters together to create le Chevalier de Fleur!"

Chevalier de Fleur-2700

"Attack Junk Synchron!"

"I can still activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow."

They laughed, "My Chevalier's special ability destroys one trap per turn!"

Life Points Yusei=2300

A smirk spread over my face, "Thank you. Now I know your monster's ability. And I activate Miracle's Wake, which bring back a monster that was destroyed this turn."

Junk Warrior-2300

My opponent sighed, "Then I place two facedowns."

They pulled to a stop, and I slowed down as well.

Aki started to freak out, "Should we stop?"

I turned to her, "No one can hack Justice without me knowing. I just went along with the ruse because I was curious about why."

My opponent took off her helmet, and sure enough, it was a girl.

She smiled at us, speaking with a thick French accent, "My name is Sherri Le Blanc. And I wanted to ask you to join my team."

Rubbing my eyes in the hopes that the pain would go away, I smiled back, "Thanks for the offer, but I'm already part of a team with my brothers."

Aki remained silent as Sherri spoke again, "I was really hoping that you'd join my team."

I shook my head, "The second we found out about it, my brothers begged me to start a team with them. They'd be really upset if I change my mind."

Finally, Aki leaned over to whisper to me, "Is she working with the ones who kidnapped you?"

"She seems more willing to accept my denial."

Aki sat back up and smiled at Sherri, "It's so strange to see a female turbo duelist that isn't masculine like Yusei."

To my surprise, Sherri's eyes snapped to me in shock, "You are a girl?"

Nodding, I explained, "The place where I grew up wasn't friendly to girls. So I had to hide it from everyone who wasn't family."

"You also grew up in fear of being discovered for who you truly are."

It took me a minute to respond, "I guess you could say it that way, but my brothers would always keep me safe."

Pain filled her face as she started to quietly speak, "When I was a child, my life was happy. My parents gave me everything I could ever want. But one day, after my dad gave me a strange teddy bear, our house was attacked. I saw my parents dead in their room, and I only escaped their fate because our butler, Elsworth, grabbed me and ran for our lives. Since then, I've been on the run because of a card that my father had hid in my bear. Now I finally know who is responsible, a group called Iliaster."

"Not them again."

Sherri paused at that interjection, and Aki quickly spoke up, "Iliaster is the one who put Yusei in that environment that was dangerous for her, and also the reason that she went to prison. They used to control this entire city."

I glanced between the two of them, "Who even knows who's in charge now that Goodwin is dead?"

While we discussed this, Sherri had gotten back on her runner, "Well, we might as well finish the duel."

Twisting to look Aki in the face, I questioned, "Aki, do you want to get off?"

She smiled, "No, because I'm starting to understand why you like doing this. It's so different from foot duels."

Joy filled me, and a smile filled my face, "Maybe I'll teach you later. But until then, you need to hold on tight."

Her arms wrapped around me tighter, and I sped up to catch up to Sherri, "I summon Turbo Synchron in attack mode!"

Turbo Synchron-100

"Then I tune my monsters together to bring forth Turbo Warrior!"

Turbo Warrior-2500

My smile grew as I continued, "When he attacks a monster that is the same level or higher than him, their points are cut in half when he attacks. And he's going after Chevalier de Fleur!"

Chevalier de Fleur-1350

Life Points Sherri=2750

She went quiet for a second, "I activate For Our Dreams, which lets me sacrifice one monster to prevent another from being destroyed in battle. And since my Chevalier survived the battle, her points return to their original amount."

Chevalier de Fleur-2700

"Then I activate Synchro Out, which splits my monster back to the monsters that were used to summon it. Unless you want to negate it with your monster's effect."

Sherri shook her head, "Not really."

Junk Warrior-2300

Turbo Synchron-100

I glanced at her once before continuing, "Then I use Urgent Tuning, which…"

Apparently she saw this coming, because Sherri stopped me in my tracks, "Now I used Chevalier's effect to negate THAT trap's effect. Then I activate Chain Close, which stops you from using any spell or trap cards for the rest of the turn."

"Well in that case, I attack you with Turbo Synchron, which switches your monster into defense mode."

Chevalier de Fleur-2300

Life Points Yusei=100

"Then, due to his effect, I can summon a monster with the same amount of points that I just took as damage. So I summon Junk Collector!"

Junk Collector-1000

I smiled right at Sherri, "Then if I remove Junk Collector from play along with a trap, then I can use that trap. I remove Urgent Tuning from play to tune my monsters together again to create Turbo Warrior!"

Turbo Warrior-2500

"Now take out Chevalier de Fleur!"

She looked at me, "It's dangerous to lower your points that far, because due to Speed World 2, if I have 4 Speed Counters or more, I can deal 800 points of damage to you for every speed spell in my hand. Now all I have to do is draw a speed spell and you lose."

I quietly watched her draw a card, "I summon Sacred Knight Shield Bearer in defense mode."

Sacred Knight Shield Bearer-1300

Aki sighed, "Thank goodness."

A smirk filled Sherri's face, "Not quite safe yet. With this card on my field, I can remove a Sacred Knight in the graveyard from play to draw another card."

We watched as she glanced at her next card, "You have the luck of the devil. I place a facedown and end my turn. But why do you duel?"

I glanced at her, "For many reasons. I want to see what my limits are. I also want to prove to everyone that I am my own person, and that 'Satellites' aren't worthless trash that they can walk on. But most of all, I want to repair my relationship with my brother, Jack."

That answer seemed to catch her off guard, "So, it seems that you have a good cause. I want to win because I found out that Iliaster are the ones who started this tournament, and I must find out why they killed my parents. And I can't do that without having a great duelist on my side."

Shaking my head (which only made the situation with my head worse) I replied, "I really am sorry, but I can't help you. If I don't duel with my brothers, then half of the reasons why I am in this tournament will not happen."

I drew my card, "I remove 7 speed counters to draw another card, and then I summon Drill Synchron in attack mode."

Drill Synchron-800

"Turbo Warrior, take out Shield Bearer! And you receive piercing damage since Drill Synchron is on the field."

Life Points Sherri=1550

Her monster disappeared just as her trap lifted up, "I activate Liberty at Last, which sends all monsters back to the owner's deck when a monster is destroyed."

Both of my monsters disappeared, Great, now I have to figure out some other way to summon Stardust, "I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

Sherri sighed, "I summon Sacred Knight Joan in attack mode!"

Sacred Knight Joan-1900

"True, she loses 300 points when she attacks, but it will still beat you."

Sacred Knight Joan-1600

"I activate Synchro Spirits. I remove one Synchro from play to summon the monsters that created it in defense mode. So I get rid of Junk Warrior to bring out Junk Synchron and Speed Warrior. Junk Synchron takes your attack!"

Speed Warrior-400

"Next, I activate High Speed Crash, which destroys a card on the field when I remove a facedown. So I destroy my facedown and Speed Warrior!"

She turned around, "Pardon-moi?"

Without even batting an eye, I kept on going, "My trap activates when two or more cards are going to be destroyed. It negates their destruction, and summons Stardust Dragon!"

I had just picked up Stardust's card when a loud crash from overhead drew my attention. A large truck was plummeting down towards the track, and next to where it came from stood the man who had ordered my kidnapping, "You will either duel for us or never duel again!"

Before I could do anything, Aki snatched the card from my hand, "I got this. Come forth, Stardust Dragon!"

Stardust shot out and caught the truck, holding it up just long enough for the three of us to get out from under it, then dumped it on the track and caught up to us.

Our runners slowed down as the signs above the track lit up saying 'Duel Cancelled', and Sherri stared at Aki, "You're a psychic duelist."

My big guardian landed next to me, and I reached out to touch his snout. An overwhelming amount of concern flooded through me, and I smiled weakly at him, "Oh calm down! I can still drive."

Aki chuckled, "I may be able to summon them, but Yusei can understand their feelings."

I turned to Aki, "Can you get him back into card form?"

While Aki dealt with that, another runner came up and parked next to Sherri, "I dealt with those thugs. Are you alright, Lady Le Blanc?"

She nodded, "Thank you, Elsworth. Meet Yusei, my fellow female turbo duelist."

The two of us nodded at each other, and I sighed, "Well, I better get going. Hold on tight Aki."


Pulling up outside of the garage, I was immediately bombarded with three very concerned men who pulled me off of Justice. Dad wrapped his arms around me, frantically asking, "Yusei, are you okay? What happened?"

Fatigue was starting to set in, "I'll explain later. I really need to take a nap."

Dad gently pulled off my helmet, "Yusei? How long have you been bleeding?"

"Since I woke up in the back of that stupid truck."

Activate Overprotective Father Syndrome.


A/N: Thanks to Let's-Go-To-Vermont and Nozomi Higurashi for reviewing on the original version of this chapter!